Oxford drops both area finals
- Updated: February 7, 2015
Last second-shot dooms girls, boys struggle to find offense; includes boys subregionals
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD — Courtney Jordan’s running shot on the baseline as time was running out gave Pell City its only lead of the second half and a pulsating 51-49 victory Oxford in the Class 6A Area 10 girls championship game Friday night.
The Lady Panthers will play at home in the Northeast sub-regional Monday night, while Oxford will be on the road at fourth-ranked Fort Payne.
The Lady Jackets were without two of their post players in the first half as Jordan Smith and Alexis Davis were out with injuries. Junior Winter Taylor took up the slack in the first quarter with a 3-pointer and three free throws to help the Yellow Jackets stake a 9-5 lead.
They extended the lead to eight before committing six turnovers that led to some easy Pell City baskets and cut the lead to 21-20 at the half. Panthers eighth-grader Mary Denman Luker had 13 points in the half.
It also didn’t help the Jackets’ other post player, Ebony Kelley, had three fouls at the half.
Smith inspired the Yellow Jackets in the second half as the six-footer entered the game with an injured ankle and immediately scored two points on an offensive rebound. She scored another basket and Tremeria Britt hit seven straight points and Oxford led 38-28 late in the third quarter.
“Jordan came out and played for us when Ebony got into foul trouble,” Oxford coach Tonya Peoples said. “We had no post player left and she gave us a big lift there in the third quarter.”
Kaylan Millender and Luker led a comeback that saw the Panthers rally from six down with 2:45 to go. Oxford played for the last shot and missed it with six seconds to go. Pell City grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 2.9 seconds left to set up its game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Luker had 24 points and Millender 20 for Pell City. Taylor had a huge game for the Yellow Jackets with 20 points. Britt had 11 and Kelley nine to go with 12 rebounds.
“Taylor and Britt had great games for us,” Peoples said. “I actually thought we were going to get that last shot to drop for us. It just did not happen, though.”
BOYS
Chelsea 51, Oxford 41
The visiting Hornets scored 12 straight points late in the fourth quarter to pull away and win the 6A Area 10 boys championship.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out 8-0 lead to start the game, but struggled offensively the rest of the night in the tough defensive struggle.
Querriun Mason’s 17 points kept the Yellow Jackets in the game until the Hornets’ late run. Chelsea’s Aaron Washington had eight fourth-quarter points.
Oxford got eight points from Kaleb Kidd, but nobody else had more than four as the Jackets just could not find any offense on the night.
The Yellow Jackets travel to Scottsboro Tuesday night for the boys subregional while Chelsea will host ninth-ranked Albertville.
GIRLS BOX SCORE
Pell City 51, Oxford 49
PELL CITY — Kaylan Millander 9 1-1 20, Morgan Roberts 0 0-2 0, Maggie Bowling 0 0-0 0, Mary Denman Luker 10 1-3 24, Jada Collins 0 2-4 2, Hannah Saxon 0 0-0 0 Ashantee Wade 0 0-0 0, Courtney Jordan 1 3-4 5, Makayla Posey 0 0-0 0. Totals 20-44 7-14 51.
OXFORD — Anna Bolton 0-1 0-0 0, Makayla Kidd 0-3 0-0 0, Winter Taylor 5-16 7-8 19, Makayla Lowery 1-3 1-4 3, Maya Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Tremeria Britt 5-10 0-0 11, Ebony Kelley 2-10 5-10 9, Alex Gomez 1-5 0-0 2, Jordan Smith 2-5 1-2 5, Grace Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-53 14-24 49
Pell City 5 15 19 12 — 51
Oxford 9 12 21 7 — 49
3-point goals: Pell City 4-8 (Millender 0-1, Luker 3-6, Jordan 0-1); Oxford 3-4 (Winter 2-2, T. Britt 1-2). Total fouls: Pell City 13, Oxford 16. Officials: Holmes, Lemon, Harvey.
BOYS BOX SCORE
Chelsea 51, Oxford 41
CHELSEA (15-13) – Joshua Pugh 0 3-4 4, Aaron Washington 4 4-5 12, Joseph Lanzi 1 1-3 3, David Simpson 0 0-0 0, Matthew Marquet 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Wilson 5 2-2 16, William Welch 3 3-4 9, Darrell Foster 3 2-5 8. Totals 16 15-23 51.
OXFORD (9-19) — Kaleb Kidd 4 0-0 8, Jalen Moore 1 0-3 2, Querriun Mason 5 7-11 17, Jakolbie McClendon 1 2-2 4, Jacob Baker 0 0-0 0, Torry Robertson 0 0-0 0, Chris Jarman 1 0-0 2, Zack Lackey 0 0-0 0, Braden Jones 2 0-0 4, Cade Heggins 1 2-3 4. Totals 15 11-19 41.
Chelsea 9 13 10 19 — 51
Oxford 10 8 8 15 — 41
3-point goals: Chelsea 4 (Wilson 4). Total fouls: Chelsea 16, Oxford 23. Officials: Oden, Riddle, Young.
County boys teams in Northeast subregional
(All games Tuesday)
Class 1A
Today: Ragland at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.
(winner hosts Winterboro, loser travels to Talladega County Central)
Class 3A
Today: Weaver at Piedmont, 7 p.m.
(winner hosts Ohatchee, loser travels to Westbrook Christian)
Class 4A
Today: White Plains at Saks, 3 p.m.
(winner hosts Cherokee County-Hokes Bluff loser, loser travels to Cherokee County-Hokes Bluff winner)
Class 5A
Anniston hosts Mortimer Jordan-Springville loser
Alexandria travels to Mortimer Jordan-Springville winner
Class 6A
Oxford at Scottsboro
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